


it’s too dark here (at the end of the maze)

by orphan_account



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Volleyball, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Not angsty, beomgyu complains a lot but it's okay because he's cute, but he still loves them, huening kai is the sweetest boy, just really soft, soobin being the best leader, taehyun thinks his friends are idiots, they all love each other, they're each other's emotional support boys, yeonjun is a good hyung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Honestly, Soobin thought,I wouldn’t have it any other way. He could feel the exhaustion from the day pressing against his shoulders, but it was times like these that he felt his worries disappear and made all of his hard work worthwhile.”or; soobin finds peace with his best friends as volleyball practice runs late into the night.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	it’s too dark here (at the end of the maze)

**Author's Note:**

> i miss playing volleyball and i love txt’s friendship/team dynamic, so this is what happened. enjoy!

Soobin could feel the sweat drip down his forehead, yet he didn’t mind it in the slightest. Taking a deep breath, he watched the white ball spin as it was tossed into the air and began to rapidly fall to the ground. His body reacted as it always did; quick and precise, with only one goal. The familiar sting of the ball hitting the tips of his fingers made his heart race with anticipation, as it always did. Focusing on the rush of blood in his ears and the leathery texture of the ball above him, Soobin gently extended his fingers and pushed.

_There it is._

Soobin watched the ball sail in a near perfect arc to the opposite side of the net, the spin almost completely gone as it floated gently down. The soft thud of the ball hitting the ground was accompanied by a pat on his shoulder.

“That was great, Soobin. I still don’t know why you keep saying you weren’t feeling it today. You looked amazing.” 

Soobin shook his damp hair, the sweat dripping from his hair making his eyes sting slightly. “Thanks, Yeonjun-hyung.” 

Glancing down at his hands, Soobin noticed the white tape wrapped around his pointer finger had come undone slightly, the white fibers frayed at the ends. “You never know, though,” Soobin continued, fixing the tape on his fingers, “One day, I could wake up and be completely useless.”

The boy next to him just laughed, throwing an arm casually around Soobin’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Even if you woke up useless, you’d still be better than half of the setters out there.” Yeonjun ruffled Soobin’s sweaty hair with a grin, the corners of his narrow, cat-like eyes lifting along with his cheekbones. 

“Hyung!”

Both Yeonjun and Soobin turned to face the source of the noise, who happened to be Beomgyu, walking up towards them from his position across the court. 

“Oh, Beomgyu? What’s up?” Soobin asked, pushing his hair out of his face from where Yeonjun had unceremoniously tussled it. 

Beomgyu, a volleyball tucked under his thin arm, nodded his head in Yeonjun’s direction. “This hyung promised me that he’d go over some drills with me once practice was over.” Beomgyu gave Yeonjun a warning look. “And don’t you dare say you forgot, hyung.”

“Ah, right!” Yeonjun hastily removed his arm from its resting place on Soobin’s shoulder and clapped his hands together loudly. His signature sly grin curled the corners of his lips as he scanned the gymnasium. “Where’s our little libero? He might be interested in joining, too.”

“Call me little one more time, hyung.” Ducking under the net, the shortest member of their team gave Yeonjun a little scowl, his doe-like eyes narrowing. “I’m literally just four centimeters shorter than you.” 

“Taehyun-ie!” Yeonjun just continued to smile, completely unphased by Taehyun’s stern warning. “And it’s four and a _half_ , Taehyun.” He held up his thumb and forefinger so that they were close to touching. “That little half on the end there, it’s very important.”

“Come _on_.” Beomgyu whined, pulling on Yeonjun’s free arm. “You literally promised me, like, half an hour ago. No take backs!”

“Alright, alright, don’t worry.” Yeonjun tried to shake off Beomgyu’s persistent hands, but failed miserably, as Beomgyu’s vice-like grip only tightened with impatience. Chuckling, Yeonjun turned to face Taehyun, jutting his thumb towards the court. “You up for catching some hits?”

Taehyun smiled, Yeonjun’s previous comment completely forgotten, as he reached forward and grabbed the ball from under Beomgyu’s arm. “Let’s do it. I’ve been wanting to work on receiving outside hits anyway.” If nothing else, Taehyun was always up for a little competition.

Beomgyu let out a surprised squeak as Taehyun ran off, releasing Yeonjun’s wrist to swat at Taehyun, who was already too far for him to reach. “Hey!” 

Soobin shook his head and felt a fond smile take form on his face as he watched his three teammates jog into their positions, smiles wide and bright, despite the sheen of sweat on their skin that always follows a few hours of practice. Rolling his shoulders back and closing his eyes, Soobin tilted his head back and shook his hair, small beads of sweat flying off in the process.

“Eww, hyung, you could have gotten sweat all over me!” 

Eyes flying open, Soobin turned around and saw Huening Kai making an exaggerated face of disgust. 

“Sorry, Huening.” Soobin apologized, smiling softly at the youngest. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Huening Kai let out a full laugh, which, when it comes to Huening Kai, was generally akin to some sort of shriek. “It’s okay, we’re all pretty gross and sweaty.” Kai’s smile was still as bright as ever, even though he was obviously tired, if the sheen of sweat glistening on his brow was any indication. Soobin couldn’t help but appreciate Huening Kai’s positive deposition; he was definitely one of the team’s moodmakers and always made sure to encourage his teammates with his bubbly personality. 

Kai ducked under the net and pushed the volleyball in his hands against Soobin’s stomach, waiting for Soobin to grab it. “Could you give me a couple practice tosses, hyung?” Kai’s face suddenly became serious, his gaze shifting to the floor of the gym. “I know I won’t be a starting hitter during the match next week, but…” 

Soobin nodded, patting the top of Kai’s head gently. “Of course!” As Soobin grabbed the ball from Kai’s hands, he watched the sophomore’s shoulders visibly relax. He was obviously worried about his hitting capabilities and was thankful for Soobin giving him a few minutes of extra practice. Granted, he was the best middle blocker Soobin had ever met, but it was very much like Huening Kai to keep pushing himself and constantly improve his play. 

Plus, Huening Kai was the youngest player on their team and it wasn’t uncommon for him to feel the need to prove to himself that he was good enough. 

“Huening,” Soobin placed a hand on Kai’s shoulder, waiting for the boy to face him before continuing. “You did great today, you know that, right?” 

After hearing the praise from his captain, Kai smiled, his whole face brightening as usual. “Thanks, Soobin-hyung. You too, though! We’re definitely gonna crush it if we keep it up like we have this week. Everyone’s been super on it!” 

Soobin smiled in return as he and Kai got into position, their shoes squeaking slightly on the wood of the gym floor. “It certainly helps that Yeonjun-hyung’s back is totally healed now.” Soobin tossed the ball high in the air and waited for it to fall slightly before pushing it up. “We’ve got the whole team in perfect shape.”

“Tell me about it.” Kai ran up to meet Soobin’s set, jumping high and smacking the ball firmly over the net. They both watched as it landed with a loud thud in the center of the court. Sighing softly, not quite satisfied, Kai moved back into position and repeated the same motions as before. He hit the ball in nearly the same spot, a little frown creasing the skin on his forehead. 

“Come to think of it,” Kai paused, raising his finger to his lips as he thought, “Yeonjun-hyung wouldn’t stop complaining about it for _weeks_ . And everyone says _I_ whine the most.” 

Soobin laughed, tossing the ball up for another set. “I don’t know, Huening,” Soobin set the ball, trying to get it in the best spot for Kai to make the kill. “You might be onto something. Recently, I’ve been thinking that Beomgyu might be making a run for your money.”

“Well,” _Smack!_ “He can take it!” This time, the ball landed just inside the line. A near perfect hit, one that would be nearly impossible for an unprepared opponent to save. 

“I do _not_ whine _nearly_ as much as Huening Kai!” Beomgyu’s complaint rang through the gymnasium, causing Soobin and Huening Kai to laugh. 

The other three were just behind them, Yeonjun standing next to another crate of volleyballs while Beomgyu and Taehyun waited in their positions; Beomgyu stood across from Yeonjun, ready to receive his set, while Taehyun stood farther back, his body low in a defensive stance as he waited to stop the ball from hitting the floor. 

“I don’t know, hyung.” Taehyun straightened his back and got up from his slightly crouched position, flashing an amused smile at Beomgyu while cracking his knuckles. “You complain _a lot_.”

“Well, are we going to just ignore the fact that Choi Yeonjun is standing right there!” Beomgyu pointed at Yeonjun, who blinked in confusion, lips protruding in a quizzical pout. 

“Me?” Yeonjun pointed a finger at himself, looking back and forth between Taehyun and Beomgyu. 

“You!” Beomgyu had a mischievous grin on his face, eager to tease his eldest hyung, who was still looking rather clueless. 

Taehyun, who still stood off to the side, just grinned as he watched the exchange, obviously enjoying the little debate that had sparked. 

Soobin just shook his head, amused, as Beomgyu and Yeonjun began debating. He knew where this was going. It’d end up being decided that Yeonjun was the whinest between them, but only because he was the oldest and he had a habit of acting like he was the youngest. Which, if Soobin were to add his own input, was generally true. 

Almost as if on cue, Soobin heard Yeonjun’s defensive reply. 

“Sometimes!” Yeonjun argued, his arms crossed. “I’ll admit, I can complain, but I act like the hyung more than I don’t!” 

Then, as expected, Yeonjun would proceed to whine about it for the rest of the day once no one agreed. 

Of course, no one would ever say it, but there were definitely times when Yeonjun took up his role as the eldest. During those times, Soobin couldn’t thank him enough. He might have been the captain of the team, but being the oldest was an entirely different burden. Yeonjun was never afraid to step in and put everyone else’s needs before his own. Even if it was just treating the team to ice cream after a long day participating in a tournament. 

“I don’t know, hyung. You might be the oldest in age, but I think you’re the youngest in spirit.” Beomgyu looked over to Yeonjun, imitating a look of regret, acting as if he was giving Yeonjun unfortunate news.

Huening Kai laughed loudly and shouted back, completely dropping all formalities, “Hey, Yeonjun-ie, can you toss me a water bottle?”

“This kid-” Yeonjun quickly dropped the volleyball in his hands and started to sprint towards Kai, who promptly began to shriek and run around the gym, desperate to escape his hyung’s wrath.

Even though it was late at night and the rest of the team had already headed into the locker rooms to clean up for the evening a while ago, the five of them had remained behind. Soobin had originally announced he was going to stay for a little bit of overtime and encouraged his team to head out without him. But, of course, it didn’t stop his four closest friends from volunteering to remain with him, claiming they wanted to stay with him and practice a little longer.

_As always._

Soobin felt warm as he listened to the laughter of his best friends, despite the fact that they all must have been feeling rather worn out. Given the long day of lectures and tests, followed by a few intense hours of practice, it was only understandable for one to be tired. Yet, they still found a way to be in high spirits and didn’t mind staying behind at all, even if they could use the extra time to rest. 

_Honestly,_ Soobin thought, _I wouldn’t have it any other way._

He could feel the exhaustion from the day pressing against his shoulders, but it was times like these that he felt his worries disappear and made all of his hard work worthwhile.

“Soobin-hyung!” 

Blinking rapidly as he realized he had zoned out, Soobin looked up and saw Beomgyu pulling out his bag from its place on the bleachers where he had haphazardly tossed it before practice. Soobin noticed that one of the zippers on Beomgyu’s bag was unzipped, a sleeve from the sweater that he had been wearing that day peeking out from inside. 

“You up for dinner? It’s getting pretty late, you know.” Before Soobin could so much as open his mouth, Beomgyu continued. “You’ve worked hard today.” 

Smiling, Soobin knew that was Beomgyu’s code for “stop practicing and come eat before I drag you out of this gym.” 

The other boys were also grabbing their bags, Yeonjun still struggling to hold Huening Kai in a headlock as Taehyun wiped his forehead with a white towel.

“Uh, sure, why not? Where were you thinking of going? I don’t have any preference, so I would be fine with whatever you all would like.” Soobin began to make his way over to Beomgyu, who took a long swig of water before tossing the bottle to Taehyun with a sneaky smile. After realizing the bottle that was tossed to him was his own, Taehyun released a quiet sigh before tucking the bottle back into his backpack and giving Beomgyu a pointed look. 

“I dunno.” Beomgyu glanced around at everyone before asking, “What do you guys want?”

“Noodles!” Yeonjun called out, voice slightly strained as he reached over Huening Kai’s head to grab his bag. Still squirming underneath Yeonjun, Huening Kai pulled hard at Yeonjun’s shirt in an attempt to free himself, nearly knocking down both of them in the process. 

“Ooh, yeah! The noodle shop that opened a few weeks ago on campus is actually really good! I went just there last week. It’s not too expensive either, which is a bonus.” Taehyun said as he grabbed Soobin’s bag and handed it to the older boy.

After placing his own bag on his back, Soobin reached a hand out towards Beomgyu, silently signalling him to turn around by twirling his finger. Beomgyu compiled, still a little confused, turning around and letting Soobin zip up his bag, a little “oh!” escaping his mouth once he realized what his hyung was doing. Giggling, Soobin patted the bag once he had finished and affectionately ruffled Beomgyu’s hair as the boy thanked him. 

“Noodles sound good!” Huening Kai called out as he finally escaped Yeonjun’s clutches, his own bag slung around his shoulders as he ran over to try and hide behind Soobin. Which, given the sophomore’s height, was relatively ineffective, as he was just barely shorter than Soobin. 

Yeonjun didn’t give up teasing the youngest, sticking out his tongue and making a face at Huening Kai as he too fished his bag and water bottle out from the bleachers. 

Soobin nodded in agreement, his stomach growling at the thought of a warm bowl of noodles. “Noodles it is! Are you guys ready to go get cleaned up?”

“On it!” Beomgyu had already started walking towards the locker rooms, throwing one arm around Huening Kai’s shoulder and the other around Yeonjun’s. The three walked off together and Soobin could hear them bickering as they crossed the gym, Huening Kai’s occasional loud laugh echoing in the empty space. 

An arm moved to loop around Soobin’s own shoulders, causing him to jump slightly and glance over. He noticed the small smile on Taehyun’s smile as he pulled them forward, following the loud trio up ahead. 

“Hyung, I say we make one of them pay tonight.” Taehyun grinned, patting Soobin’s shoulder as they walked together. Given Taehyun’s height, Soobin felt the slight urge to crouch down a little to tease him, but he knew it’d result in a smack and a loud _“Hey! Soobin-hyung!”_

“Definitely. I paid last time, so it certainly won’t be me.” They had gone out to eat out together just the previous weekend and Soobin had (unfortunately) lost a game of rock, paper, scissors. 

Soobin also remembered how much they had eaten the night after a tournament last month. Granted, the whole team was there, but Soobin vaguely recalled Yeonjun and Heuning Kai eating at least three bowls each. Probably more. 

Taehyun nodded in agreement. “Let’s just say Beomgyu-hyung pays tonight. He owes me a couple meals anyways.”

“Oh? Really?” Soobin looked over at Taehyun, raising an eyebrow. “He seriously offered to pay for multiple meals? He _never_ offers to pay whenever we go out to eat.”

“Well, technically, yes.” Taehyun grinned, his big eyes shining as he looked quite proud of himself. “But if he wanted to pass his Advanced Chemistry quiz, he was losing a couple bucks to feed me.” 

Soobin laughed loudly as they reached the locker room, which had been held open by the small door stopper. Of course, Taehyun wasn’t one to give out his smarts for free, even for his friends. Once, he had made Huening Kai do the laundry in the dorm for an entire month as payment for helping him with his Calculus class. Kai had passed with a high B, which balanced out the month of extra chores. At least, that was Taehyun’s reasoning in response to Huening Kai’s complaints. 

Now that he thought about it, Soobin realized Beomgyu was getting off pretty easy. Paying for a few dinners, even if one was for the five of them, would end up costing less than being tutored by Kang Taehyun. 

Upon entering the familiar locker room, Soobin noticed the other three pulling open their lockers and still talking loudly, their energy levels way too high for anyone when it was almost 8 o’clock at night. 

_Yeah,_ Soobin thought as he watched Taehyun walk over to Beomgyu and give him the disappointing news. Beomgyu promptly yelled indignantly, squirting water at Taehyun, who desperately threw his hands up in an attempt to stop the water from hitting his face. Huening Kai began laughing loudly behind them, the sound only amplified by the locker room. Naturally, always ready to get his revenge on Beomgyu, Yeonjun laughed too and started jumping around him, arms flailing wildly as he did some sort of celebratory dance.

_I wouldn’t change us for the world._

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know if i made any technical errors relating to volleyball so i can fix them right away! it’s been a few years since i've played, so i'm bound to have forgotten some things. thanks for reading!


End file.
